Qualcomm

Updated: 3 weeks ago

In Short

Qualcomm is a mobile technology and processor manufacturer best known in the Android world for its vast lineup of "Snapdragon" system-on-a-chip components used primarily in smartphones and tablets. Snapdragon processors have gained popularity for having a wide range of different prices and power levels for devices of all price points, while in any case being extremely efficient with mobile data traffic because of Qualcomm's involvement in the development of 3G and 4G standards.

Though processor production may be its bread and butter as smartphone adoption has taken off, Qualcomm is also known for pushing technologies in various other areas. Qualcomm has been one of the leading developers of 3G and 4G networks since their first emerging popularity, partnering tightly with carriers around the world and holding various important patents on 3G and 4G networking. Patent licensing to other companies for mobile device processors remains a large portion of Qualcomm's business.

It has also developed a lesser-known display technology called Mirasol, which bridges the gap between efficient but black and white e-ink displays and colorful but power-hungry LCD and AMOLED displays. Mirasol has primarily lived as a technology demonstration, but in late 2013 Qualcomm also released its Toq smartwatch as an example of the display tech in real-world use.

Qualcomm has been a player in the mobile space in one way or another since the early days, and with its continued development of mobile-focused technology it is sure to be at the front of everyone's minds going forward.

17 November 2016 28By Harish JonnalagaddaQualcomm is rolling out Quick Charge 4.0, which delivers 20% faster charging and support for USB-C and USB-PD (Power Delivery). You now get up to five hours of talk time with just five minutes of charging.

17 November 2016 81By Harish JonnalagaddaQualcomm collaborated with Samsung over the 14nm Snapdragon 820 and 821, and the company is continuing to work with the South Korean foundry over its next-gen SoC, the Snapdragon 835.

03 November 2016 17By Harish JonnalagaddaQualcomm saw a healthy 13.3% YoY increase in revenue to $6.2 billion on the back of strong demand in China and new license agreements in the country. Overall chip shipments rose by 4% to 211 million units.

27 October 2016 7By Harish JonnalagaddaQualcomm is the market leader in the mobile SoC segment, and the company is now looking to expand into automotive and Internet of Things applications by acquiring Dutch-based NXP Semiconductors for $47 billion.

18 October 2016 7By Harish JonnalagaddaAt its 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong, Qualcomm announced two new SoCs in the mid-range Snapdragon 600 series, the Snapdragon 653 and Snapdragon 626. For the entry-level tier, the company is rolling out the Snapdragon 427.

17 October 2016 13By Harish JonnalagaddaQualcomm has announced that it is partnering with Netgear, Ericsson, and Telstra in delivering the world's first gigabit LTE device and network. Telstra is currently building a gigabit-ready LTE network with equipment from Ericsson, which is expected to go live before the end of the year.

04 October 2016 33By Harish JonnalagaddaSamsung LSI currently manufactures Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 on its second-gen 14nm LPP node, and it looks like the South Korean company has bagged a contract for next year's 10nm Snapdragon 830 as well. That's according to Korea's ET News, which states that the SoC will be used in the Galaxy S8.

31 August 2016 52By Harish JonnalagaddaASUS revealed earlier this year that the ZenFone 3 Deluxe will be the first phone to run the Snapdragon 821 SoC. At IFA, Qualcomm is providing additional details on its mid-year refresh, delving into the performance improvements and feature additions over the Snapdragon 820.

11 July 2016 65By Harish JonnalagaddaSix months after the first Snapdragon 820 devices made their debut, Qualcomm is announcing the Snapdragon 821 SoC with a 10% performance gain. The Snapdragon 821 will retain a quad-core Kryo CPU cluster, but will offer faster cores clocked at 2.4GHz.